Scottish Executive

Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Land Court will have the required number of members necessary to perform the functions that will be conferred upon it under the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill; and whether it will remove the maximum age limit at which existing members must vacate office, and whether it will make a permanent appointment of a deputy chairman.

Ross Finnie: The Executive has always provided the Scottish Land Court with the staffing resources it requires. We envisage no difficulty about continuing to do that in future.

  We have no intention of removing the maximum age limit at which existing members must vacate office. None of its members is near the retirement age of 65. That retirement age was part of the package on pay and conditions that members freely entered into when appointed.

  There is no business case at present in either the Land Court or the Lands Tribunal for Scotland for the creation of a permanent post of Deputy Chairman. Powers for the ad hoc appointment of a deputy chairman already exist (see paragraph 10 of Schedule 1 to the Scottish Land Court Act 1993). These have been used once in the last eight years and they worked perfectly satisfactorily. Staffing levels are kept under regular review in consultation with Lord McGhie. The Executive stand ready to respond to bids for more staff when the workloads justify this.

Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be a power of remit between the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland under the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill.

Ross Finnie: It is our intention that the jurisdiction of the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland under the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill will be entirely distinct. They will not overlap. We have tabled an amendment to the bill which would give the tribunal jurisdiction over valuation appeals in relation to the right to buy. The Land Court will have a general jurisdiction over disputes arising out of agricultural tenancies under the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 and the bill, but will not have jurisdiction over valuation appeals.

  We recognise that there may be cases concerned with valuation appeals that raise issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the Land Court. Therefore, in order to facilitate the efficient disposal of such cases, I can confirm that we have also lodged an amendment to the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill that would enable the tribunal to refer a matter to the Land Court if it considers that to be appropriate.

Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Land Court will have any power under the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill to be arbiter of consent similar to that under section 1(5) of the Lands Tribunal Act 1949.

Ross Finnie: In their report on Jurisdictions under the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Acts (Scot Law Com No 178), upon which Part 7 of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill is based, the Scottish Law Commission recommended that the Land Court be given power to act as arbiter of consent on a contractual reference, similar to the power available to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland under section 1(5) of the Lands Tribunal Act 1949.

  New section 60(2)(d) of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 (as introduced by section 59 of the bill) makes such provision as is appropriate in relation to tenancies under the 1991 act.

  Section 61(2)(d) of the bill makes equivalent provision in respect of tenancies under the bill.

Agriculture

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration its Environment and Rural Affairs Department gives to any trampling around outdoor feed rings by livestock when considering whether a farmer is liable to pay a penalty for overgrazing a field.

Ross Finnie: Trampling around outdoor feed rings by livestock may constitute a breach of scheme conditions if it caused damage to a designated site, a site being managed in the interests of conservation under an agri-environment agreement, or to natural or semi-natural vegetation anywhere on a holding in receipt of livestock subsidy or agri-environment payments. In such a case, my department would discuss the situation and potential remedies with the claimant, but in the absence of corrective or preventative action some or all of any payment due would be withheld. If the damage was to any other areas or if the farmer did not claim subsidy, there would be no implications for payments.

Courts

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give any consideration to extending the range of disposals available to district courts in order to include community service orders.

Hugh Henry: District courts deal with relatively minor offences and therefore have limited sentencing powers in respect of custody. In the year 2001, only 1% of all cases dealt with by district courts resulted in a custodial sentence. Community Service Orders are, however, defined by statute as a direct alternative to custody. These factors indicate that Community Service Orders would not be a suitable penalty in the vast majority of cases handled by district courts and that any such extension might put offenders convicted of relatively minor offences at risk of custody. The Scottish Executive therefore considers that it would be inappropriate to make Community Service Orders available to the district court.

Crime

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what recommendations have been made by the working group on discrimination in reaction to the report The Experience of Violence and Harassment of Gay Men in the City of Edinburgh and what specific action has been taken in response.

Hugh Henry: There is no official Scottish Executive working group on discrimination, although the Steering Group established to co-ordinate the Scottish response to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report did deal with discrimination. The Experience of Violence and Harassment of Gay Men in the City of Edinburgh was not considered by the Steering Group.

  The report made a number of recommendations for a wide range of agencies to consider including the Executive. One of the main recommendations was that an inter-agency group at national level should be established to consider the violence and harassment experienced by gay men across Scotland. This was supported by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and the Scottish Executive and led to the setting up of a wider group, the Scottish Police and Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community Liaison Forum. The forum’s main remit is to advise ACPOS on service delivery issues in relation to LGBT communities. It also advises COSLA and the Executive on service delivery and policy issues in relation to policing the LGBT communities. The Scottish Executive is represented on the forum, which has just completed its second productive year.

Dentistry

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental practices have closed in each year since 1999 and where these practices were located.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Information on the closure of dental practices is not held centrally.

  The total number of practices in Scotland, which ceased to provide NHS general dental services between 1999 and 2002 is shown in the following table, categorised by health board:

  


Health Board 
  

Total Practices Closed - 1999 
  

Total Practices Closed - 2000 
  

Total Practices Closed - 2001 
  

Total Practices Closed - 2002 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

2 
  

2 
  

3 
  

1 
  



Borders 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Argyll and Clyde 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Fife 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

2 
  

3 
  

2 
  

3 
  



Highland 
  

4 
  

2 
  

2 
  

3 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Grampian 
  

1 
  

0 
  

1 
  

3 
  



Orkney 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Lothian 
  

1 
  

2 
  

2 
  

3 
  



Tayside 
  

2 
  

0 
  

2 
  

2 
  



Forth Valley 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

2 
  



Western Isles 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

0 
  

0 
  

2 
  

0 
  



Shetland 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Scotland 
  

13 
  

13 
  

17 
  

19

Dentistry

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental practices in the highest deprivation categories have closed in each year since 1999, broken down by location.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Information on the closure of dental practices is not held centrally.

  The number of NHS dental practices in Scotland, in deprivation categories 5, 6 and 71, which have ceased to provide NHS general dental services, between 1999 and 2002 are shown in the following table, broken down by NHS board:

  


Health Board 
  

Practices Closed in 1999 
  

Practices Closed in 2000 
  

Practices Closed in 2001 
  

Practices Closed in 2002 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Borders 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Argyll and Clyde 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Fife 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

2 
  

3 
  

2 
  

1 
  



Highland 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Grampian 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Orkney 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Lothian 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Tayside 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Forth Valley 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Western Isles 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Shetland 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Scotland 
  

2 
  

5 
  

5 
  

6 
  



  Note:

  1. Deprivation categories (DEPCATs) are socio-economic indicators on scale of 1 to 7, with DEPCATs 5, 6 and 7 showing the greatest deprivation and commonly used by the Scottish Executive and NHS boards to target resources aimed at improving health.

Drug Misuse

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) arrests, (b) convictions and (c) deaths relating to cannabis supply and use there have been in each of the last four years.

Mr Jim Wallace: Scottish Executive criminal statistics cover recorded crimes rather than persons arrested. Within those statistics, supply or possession of cannabis cannot be separately identified from the numbers of all recorded crimes for illegal supply or possession of drugs.

  The available information on convictions for drug offences is given in the following table. Estimates for the proportion relating to cannabis in 2001 are not yet available.

  Persons with a Charge Proved, Where the Main Crime was a Drugs Offence, Scotland, 1997-2001. Total Number and Estimated Percentage Relating to Cannabis

  

 

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Supply and trafficking 
  

 1,621 
  

 1,627 
  

 1,559 
  

 1,284 
  

 1,314 
  



Percentage cannabis1


 58 
  

 60 
  

 58 
  

 53 
  

N/A 
  



Possession 
  

 5,384 
  

 5,291 
  

 4,841 
  

 4,099 
  

 4,340 
  



Percentage cannabis1


78 
  

79 
  

77 
  

78 
  

N/A 
  



  Note:

  1. Estimated from Home Office data. Figures are provisional.

  The figures provided on the total number of persons with a charge proved for drug offences are derived from the Scottish Executive Justice Department’s court proceedings database. This database does not currently hold information on the type of drug involved in such convictions.

  The Home Office collects data separately on drug offenders, including information on the type of drug involved in court convictions and fiscal fines. The coverage of this data is known to be incomplete. For example, the Home Office data are currently estimated to cover about 91% of total Scottish convictions for drug offences in 2000. However, it is possible to make use of this information to estimate the proportion of convictions involving different types of drug.

  Information on drug-related deaths are published by the General Register Office for Scotland. In a recent review, Reducing drug related deaths (2000), The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs reports that there is no literature evidence of acute death directly due to toxicity from cannabis.

Drug Misuse

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) arrests, (b) convictions and (c) deaths relating to heroin supply and use there have been in each of the last four years.

Mr Jim Wallace: Scottish Executive criminal statistics cover recorded crimes rather than persons arrested. Within those statistics, supply or possession of heroin cannot be separately identified from the numbers of all recorded crimes for illegal supply or possession of drugs.

  The available information on convictions for drug offences is given in the following Table 1. Estimates for the proportion relating to heroin in 2001 are not yet available.

  Table 1: Persons with a Charge Proved, Where the Main Crime was a Drugs Offence, Scotland, 1997-2001. Total Number and Estimated Percentage Relating to Heroin

  

 

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Supply and trafficking 
  

 1,621 
  

 1,627 
  

 1,559 
  

 1,284 
  

 1,314 
  



Percentage heroin1


 13 
  

 18 
  

 29 
  

 31 
  

N/A 
  



Possession 
  

 5,384 
  

 5,291 
  

 4,841 
  

 4,099 
  

 4,340 
  



Percentage heroin1


6 
  

10 
  

15 
  

14 
  

N/A 
  



  Note:

  1. Estimated from Home Office data. Figures are provisional.

  The figures provided on the total number of persons with a charge proved for drug offences are derived from the Scottish Executive Justice Department’s court proceedings database. This database does not currently hold information on the type of drug involved in such convictions.

  The Home Office collects data separately on drug offenders, including information on the type of drug involved in court convictions and fiscal fines. The coverage of this data is known to be incomplete. For example, the Home Office data are currently estimated to cover about 91% of total Scottish convictions for drug offences in 2000. However, it is possible to make use of this information to estimate the proportion of convictions involving different types of drug.

  Information on drug-related deaths is published by the General Register Office for Scotland. Figures relating to heroin are grouped with morphine in the statistics and are given in the following Table 2.

  Table 2: Heroin/Morphine1,2-Related Deaths, Scotland, 1997-2001

  


1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



74 
  

121 
  

167 
  

196 
  

216 
  



  Notes:

  1. When a number of drugs are identified in a body it is not always possible to tell which of them made the major contribution to death. The information on heroin/morphine corresponds to the number of deaths where heroin/morphine was mentioned on the death certificate or was identified following investigation.

  2. It is believed that for the overwhelming majority of cases where morphine has been identified in post-mortem toxicological tests its presence is a result of heroin use.

Emergency Services

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32864 by Mr Jim Wallace on 17 January 2003, what action is in hand to try to improve the consistency with which data on assaults on police officers is collected; whether such action will include measures to ensure the collection of reliable, consistent and comparable data on assaults on ambulance personnel and fire crews, and when recommendations on the collection of such data will be made to the appropriate agencies.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland is developing a new Crime Recording Standard which will improve consistency in recording practices between Scottish police forces.

  Forces’ data on assaults is centrally collated by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary who now routinely check the quality of the returns. Similar arrangements are in place in respect of the data collated by the Scottish Executive and by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Fire Services on assaults on ambulance personnel and fire crews respectively.

Fire Service

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of emergency fire cover was available in Glasgow on 21 January 2003 and whether the number of fire appliances was lower in relation to their geographical spread than on previous strike days.

Hugh Henry: The level of emergency fire cover available in Glasgow on 21 January, both in terms of numbers and in geographical spread, was the same as that on previous strike days.

Fire Service

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive why it took 27 minutes for green goddesses to arrive at the fire at Young Street, Springburn on 21 January 2003 and which fire station did the appliances come from.

Hugh Henry: It took 21 minutes, not 27 minutes, from time of call for the Green Goddesses to arrive at the fire. The Resource Allocation System is set up to identify the nearest Temporary Service Fire Station which was Jardine Street in this instance. The Breathing Apparatus Rescue Team arrived from Birkmyre Street 22 minutes after the call. The journey time from mobilisation to arrival was 14 and 15 minutes respectively.

Fire Service

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the police made any preliminary survey of the fire at Young Street, Springburn on 21 January 2003 before calling out the green goddesses and whether any such action resulted in any delay to the fire being tackled.

Hugh Henry: A Green Goddess and the Breathing Apparatus Rescue Team were actioned in response to an emergency call. A police traffic patrol unit was in the vicinity at the time and responded immediately when this call came through. In line with operational orders they assessed the situation and found no visible flames, and no cries for help/assistance. They sought advice on entry to the building from the Senior Fire Officer present at the Joint Operational Control Centre. They were instructed not to force entry as a Green Goddess and Breathing Apparatus Rescue Team were en route to the incident. The involvement of the traffic patrol unit did not affect the time of response to the emergency call.

Fire Service

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which recommendations from the Bain inquiry report into the fire service it intends to implement and what its timescale is for implementation.

Hugh Henry: Much of the Bain report chimes with our own consultation paper – The Scottish Fire Service of the Future – which we published on 30 April 2002. We are considering the Bain Report carefully against our policy paper in taking forward the modernisation of the Fire Service in Scotland. Equally we expect the Employers and the Fire Brigades Union to consider the issues that directly relate to their interests, in particular pay and working practices. We will be consulting with the key stakeholders in determining the timescale for implementation.

Fire Service

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what examination it has carried out into the recommendations of the Bain inquiry report into the fire service to ensure that the standards of fire cover will continue to be achievable.

Hugh Henry: The Bain Report recommends a move to risk assessed fire cover rather than the current rigid system of response based on property and geographical area. This mirrors proposals contained in the Executive’s policy consultation paper published last April. The Executive is currently considering how to take this forward to ensure that the new arrangements provide even better protection for the public.

Fire Service

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the standards of fire cover can be met if retained and whole-time fire crews are combined and, if so, what research it has carried out to ascertain this.

Hugh Henry: Mixed crewing of appliances could satisfy existing standards in some circumstances. Current standards of fire cover are directly related to local geographic areas and timed attendance targets. In some areas, the target response does permit the use of retained personnel, in others it would be difficult to achieve. A move to a risk assessment approach may alter the target response on the basis of professional judgement. The option of using mixed crewing could, therefore, also be reconsidered and changed.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its interpretation is of "rules concerning access to waters and resources", as referred to in Article 19 of EU Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002.

Ross Finnie: The rules concerning access to waters and resources are those rules described in Chapter IV (Rules on access to Water and Resources) of EU Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002.

  These are subject to a fuller interpretation by reference to multiple decisions of the European Court of Justice and to the multifarious provisions of superior legislation, including but not restricted to Treaties of the European Union.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the deductions from future fishing opportunities outlined in paragraph 1 of Article 23(4) of EU Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002 would be for one year only or for an indefinite period.

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the reallocation of fishing opportunities outlined in paragraph 2 of Article 23(4) of EU Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002 would be for one year only or for an indefinite period.

Ross Finnie: Article 23(4) allows for a deduction from future fishing opportunities equivalent to the sum total of prior over-fishing, measured in tonnage.

  In most cases, it is to be expected that the full tonnage to be deducted will be deducted from opportunities allocated in the first calendar year following establishment of an occurrence of over-fishing.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether reallocation of fishing opportunities as outlined in Article 23(4) of EU Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002 is compatible with the principle of relative stability.

Ross Finnie: Yes.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline the procedure for withdrawal from the Common Fisheries Policy and what the legal position would be if such a policy was pursued.

Ross Finnie: Withdrawal from the Common Fisheries Policy would be a matter of negotiation and Treaty amendment.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive from which budgets the £50 million fisheries aid package was taken and whether it will give a breakdown of this package.

Ross Finnie: The costs of this one-off, unplanned spending in 2003-04 will be met within the usual flexibilities available to the Executive in managing its overall resources. It will comprise a combination of carry forward of 2002-03 underspending and 2003-04 estimating, windfall savings in a range of demand determined spending. It is not possible to say at this stage what combination of 2002-03 and 2003-04 savings will deliver the resources required.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33364 by Ross Finnie on 29 January 2003, whether other MSPs for the area were given notice of these meetings and offered an opportunity to attend.

Ross Finnie: No. The Executive will advise MSPs when a minister intends visiting their area. However, MSPs are not routinely advised or invited when a minister meets other MSPs in private to discuss a subject affecting their area. The arrangements for meetings organised by non-Executive bodies are for them to decide.

Foster Care

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will commission a short-life national training programme to ensure that carers are aware of the component parts of the education system and are able to support the children in their care, as recommended in point 1 of the short-term actions section of the report by the Fostering Network, Modernising the Foster Care Service in Scotland: "Trying to Meet the Standards" .

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a short-term working party or project to look at the needs of the biological children of foster carers and establish a best practice document on this matter, as recommended in point 3 of the short-term actions section of the report by the Fostering Network, Modernising the Foster Care Service in Scotland: "Trying to Meet the Standards" .

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will promote a national approach to the assessment, approval, support and reward for friends and family carers, as recommended in point 4 of the short-term actions section of the report by the Fostering Network , Modernising the Foster Care Service in Scotland: "Trying to Meet the Standards" .

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a short-life working party to examine the training requirements of the foster care service and consider the establishment of a centre of excellence, as recommended in the medium-term section of the report by the Fostering Network, Modernising the Foster Care Service in Scotland: "Trying to Meet the Standards" .

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will commission research into the aetiology of abuse in foster care settings, as recommended in point 2 of the long-term actions section of the report by the Fostering Network, Modernising the Foster Care Service in Scotland: "Trying to Meet the Standards" .

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will commission research into the advantages of the different reward and fee structures for carers and produce information for agencies to use when considering different reward typologies, as recommended in point 3 of the long-term actions section of the report by the Fostering Network, Modernising the Foster Care Service in Scotland: "Trying to Meet the Standards" .

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will produce a document, similar to the National Practice Guide to Investigations and Allegations of Abuse against Carers  produced in Wales, to ensure a common standard for all agencies, as recommended in point 4 of the long-term actions section of the report by the Fostering Network , Modernising the Foster Care Service in Scotland: "Trying to Meet the Standards" .

Cathy Jamieson: We are considering this report from the Fostering Network and how best to take forward the proposals they have made to improve the fostering system in Scotland. We will be examining those concerning the legal framework for fostering during the second phase of the adoption policy review, which is due to report next year. Many of the remaining proposals involve the management and delivery of foster services and are the responsibility of local authorities. We are also in contact with the Department of Health on their review of fostering services, Choice Protects , which is considering similar issues for England and Wales, as well as some reserved matters involving pension arrangements for foster carers. We will continue to discuss relevant issues with the Fostering Network.

Foster Care

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will generate a review of payment structures across Scotland in order to clarify the situation in respect of allowances to foster carers and, dependent upon the needs of this review, ensure that such allowances are sufficient to meet the needs of foster children, as recommended in point 2 of the short-term actions section of the report by the Fostering Network, Modernising the Foster Care Service in Scotland: "Trying to Meet the Standards" .

Cathy Jamieson: The Fostering of Children (Scotland) Regulations 1996 and the accompanying guidance make clear that it is for local authorities to decide their own types and scales of payments to foster carers, depending on local child care needs and circumstances. We have no plans at present to review these payment structures across Scotland.

Foster Care

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the code of practice on the recruitment, assessment, approval, training, management and support of foster carers, as recommended in point 5 of the short-term actions section of the report by the Fostering Network, Modernising the Foster Care Service in Scotland: "Trying to Meet the Standards" .

Cathy Jamieson: The recruitment, selection, approval, training and support of foster carers is covered by the National Care Standards for foster care and family placement services and will be regulated by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care.

Foster Care

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the call for home responsibilities protection to be extended to foster carers and make representations to Her Majesty's Government accordingly, as recommended in point 6 of the short-term actions section of the report by the Fostering Network, Modernising the Foster Care Service in Scotland: "Trying to Meet the Standards" .

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to home responsibilities protection, which is a reserved matter.

Foster Care

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the discussions on the registration of foster carers in the longer term remains on the agenda of the Social Services Council, as recommended in point 1 of the long-term actions section of the report by the Fostering Network, Modernising the Foster Care Service in Scotland: "Trying to Meet the Standards" .

Cathy Jamieson: Under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001, foster carers could be registered by the council as a social service worker. There are no plans or timescale set to register this group of workers but the Scottish Executive will keep this matter under review.

Freight

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many lorry miles have been removed from the road network as a result of Anglo-Scottish freight facilities grant and track access grant schemes awards

Lewis Macdonald: Awards of Freight Facilities and Track Access Grants to rail projects with traffic flows between Scotland and England and funded by the Scottish Executive and the Department for Transport have, up to 31 March 2002, removed a total of 1.4 million lorry miles from Scotland's roads each year.

Health

Iain Smith (North-East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-6288 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 23 January 2003, when the review of the current provision of chronic pain services will be commissioned; what its terms of reference will be, and when it will be expected to report.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I am glad to say that Professor James McEwen, formerly Professor of Public Health Medicine at Glasgow University, has accepted the Executive's invitation to carry out the review. Details of the remit and timescale will be announced in due course.

Health

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32863 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 16 January 2003, why information on abortions performed in order to save the life of the woman is only available from 1991, given that recording the grounds on which an abortion is being carried out has been required since the Abortion Act 1967 came into force.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Until 1990, all emergency abortions were recorded together, making it impossible to distinguish between those carried out to save the lives of the women and those carried out to prevent grave permanent injury to their health.

  The grounds for legal abortion set out in the Abortion Act 1967 were amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. This made it necessary to amend the regulations governing the content of the notification form, and a separate category for abortions carried out to save the woman’s life was then introduced.

Livestock

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals there are to give a distinctive Scottish identity to cattle passports, in line with the decision to ensure that cattle passports from Wales are identifiable as such.

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that cattle passports relating to animals bred in Scotland are given a distinctive Scottish identity as part of the campaign to brand Scottish produce in an advantageous fashion.

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the option exists to produce bilingual cattle passports in Gaelic and English in line with the decision to allow the use of Welsh on cattle passports issued in Wales.

Ross Finnie: There are no plans to give a distinctive Scottish identity to cattle passports. Only one format of passport is used on the UK mainland and the text is shown in English and Welsh. The Welsh language is provided in order to comply with the Welsh Language Act 1993 and is not related to the branding of Welsh produce.

Mental Health (Scotland) Bill

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce details of the proposed assessment of services for people with mental disorder as promised during Stage 1 proceedings on the Mental Health (Scotland) Bill.

Malcolm Chisholm: I am pleased to announce that Dr Sandra Grant OBE, the former Chief Executive of the Scottish Health Advisory Service, has agreed to lead this work, with the following remit:

  "To undertake a comprehensive assessment of existing mental health service provision and consider how the current range of facilities, augmented by the substantial additional resources now coming on stream, can meet the objectives of the Mental Health (Scotland) Bill.

  The project work will include:

  mapping existing services for people with needs for mental health services in Scotland;

  identifying gaps or duplication in the provision of services, including areas where reprioritisation would be possible, or shortcomings in the quality of services;

  reviewing available evidence about the organisation, management, efficiency and effectiveness of mental health services;

  assessing the implications for services of the introduction of the new act, and

  considering priorities for development of services in light of these implications.

  In carrying out this work, the project team will involve and consult service users and carers and other relevant interests, including NHS bodies, local authorities and the voluntary sector, and:

  have regard to the wide range of available information on existing services;

  take account of likely changes in demand for services resulting from demographic trends, changing patterns of morbidity, changing patterns of care and other factors, and

  assess resource, including workforce, implications"

  The aim is to complete the work by 31 August, following which a report of the outcome will be made available.

Planning

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many planning applications have been determined by its Inquiry Reporters Unit in each year since 1999 and how many of these determinations have been in favour of the applicant.

Des McNulty: The Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit (SEIRU) does not determine planning applications. Applications called-in by the Scottish ministers are, however, passed to SEIRU and a report with recommendations is then prepared on each case, for the Scottish ministers’ determination. SEIRU’s main responsibility is the processing of planning appeals under powers delegated by Scottish ministers, though in a small number of cases, Scottish ministers will make the decision rather than a reporter. The information provided in the following table relates to those planning permission appeals determined by SEIRU for each of the business years since 1999:

  

 

Planning Permission Appeals Decided 
  

Number Successful 
  

% 
  



1-4-99 to 31-3-00 
  

563 
  

197 
  

35 
  



1-4-00 to 31-3-01 
  

614 
  

214 
  

35 
  



1-4-01 to 31-3-02 
  

566 
  

214 
  

38 
  



1-4-02 to 31-12-02 
(part year) 
  

491 
  

168 
  

34

Planning

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many planning applications have been referred to its Inquiry Reporters Unit in each year since 1999.

Des McNulty: The number of planning applications called-in and referred to the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit since 1999 totals 117. A yearly breakdown of the figures is given in the following table:

  Cases Notified to Inquiry Reporters Unit Since 1999

  


Year (1 April to 31 March) 
  

Called-In 
  



1999-2000 
  

37 
  



2000-01 
  

35 
  



2001-02 
  

25 
  



2002-date 
  

20

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the decision on whether to contract out a service in the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) lies with the Chief Executive of the SPS and when it lies with Scottish ministers.

Mr Jim Wallace: As an Executive Agency, the SPS operates under a framework document, the text of which is available on SPS’s website at: www.sps.gov.uk . Paragraph 3.1 of that document says that "The Chief Executive is responsible and accountable for operational and contractual matters involving the Agency and for its performance. He or she is answerable to the Scottish Ministers." Paragraph 3.2 of the document says that "The Chief Executive may make changes in the organisation and management structure of SPS in pursuit of its aims and objectives."

  As the framework document makes clear, Scottish ministers expect the Chief Executive to manage SPS consistent with the aims and objectives set by ministers and to obtain the best value for taxpayers’ money made available by ministers. Within that policy and resources framework, decisions on contracting out services are therefore for the Chief Executive.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many awards granted for freight facilities grant and track access grant schemes in 2001-02 depended upon an element of funding for Anglo-Scottish flows from the Strategic Rail Authority and what the economic and environmental benefit of such awards has been.

Lewis Macdonald: None.

Road Safety

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will give to the promotion of community speed watch schemes.

Mr Jim Wallace: We have no plans to promote community speed watch schemes in Scotland.

Scots Language

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take with Her Majesty’s Government to comply with Part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of the Scots language.

Mike Watson: By signing the Charter, the UK Government recognises the distinctive nature and cultural value of the Scots language. The Executive has made good progress in complying with the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages in respect of Scots and the Executive considers that its policies and practice give due regard to the objectives and principles in Part II of the Charter.

Tourism

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the benefit to the economy of genealogy, including tourism within and to Scotland associated with the tracing of ancestry.

Mike Watson: VisitScotland is currently awaiting the results of an audit jointly funded with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to quantify the value to Scotland of the genealogy tourism sector. The findings are due in late spring.

Waste Management

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated to the Strategic Waste Fund in (a) 2002-03 and (b) 2003-04.

Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24884 on 30 July 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer when the management team of the Holyrood project, or any of its members, first (a) became aware of the contents of the accounts of Flour City International Inc in respect of the quarter ending 31 July 2001 and (b) communicated to (i) the Holyrood Progress Group and (ii) the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body any information in respect of the contents of those accounts.

Sir David Steel: The Holyrood Project Team was never made aware of the accounts of Flour City International for the quarter ending 31 July 2001, and consequently no information about these has been communicated to either the Holyrood Progress Group or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.